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The Imperial Fora are a succession of ever more splendid public spaces laid out by Julius Caesar and the emperors Augustus, Vespasian, Nerva and Trajan. They occupy the huge area between it and the lower slopes of the Quirinal and Viminal.

Two thousand years ago, most of the known world was directly affected by decisions made in the Roman Forum, namely serving as a judicial, religious and commercial centre. Today, classicists and archaeologists wander among its ruins, conjuring up the glory that was Rome.

Lining both sides of the Via dei Fori Imperiali are the Imperial Forums, launched by Julius Caesar in 54 BC that includes the Temple of Venus Genetrix, dedicated to the goddess of love from whom Caesar immodestly claimed descent.

On the east side are the ruins of the forums constructed by the emperors Nerva, Augustus, and Trajan. On the west side, closer to the Colosseum, you can see marble maps, ordered made by Benito Mussolini, charting the vast outreaches of the Roman Empire in its heyday.